A panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled Thursday that the language used in policies by Nationwide Insurance was not "ambiguous" about whether damage caused by combinations of wind and water is covered under a policy that only lists one of the two. Although Nationwide defeated a lawsuit brought by [...]

Several dozen Muslims in Kenya protested in front of the Nairobi police headquarters Thursday, saying that the country has been detaining and torturing Muslim citizens at the request of the US government. The protesters alleged that suspects detained in Kenya were flown on secret rendition flights to Ethiopia, where "aggressive interrogation" took place at the [...]

The Death Penalty Worldwide, Hands Off Cain, August 30, 2007 . Read the full text of the report. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Katherine Varnum, et al., v. Timothy J. Brien, Iowa District Court for Polk County, August 30, 2007 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Paul Leonard, Julie Leonard v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, August 30, 2007 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Leandro Despouy , UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, expressed apprehension Thursday over the conviction and sentencing of UN Special Rapporteur Sigma Huda . Huda was sentenced to a three-year jail term by the Bangladesh Supreme Court Monday for her involvement in a corruption scheme headed by her husband, former Bangladeshi [...]

Up to one-fourth of US Department of Justice civil appellate lawyers are refusing to represent the government on the appeals of detainees from Guantanamo Bay , according to a story in US News & World Report. A February court ruling upholding the Military Commissions Act (MCA) put all Guantanamo detainee appeals under the jurisdiction of [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) will likely invoke the state secrets privilege to halt a lawsuit against the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) , the Belgium-based international banking cooperative that disclosed personal information about its customers to third parties, the New York Times reported Friday. The DOJ wants to dismiss the litigation [...]

The Thai government said Friday that it has lifted a five-month ban on the popular video-sharing website YouTube , now owned by Google , after YouTube's site operator agreed to prohibit offensive videos from appearing on the site. Thailand banned access to YouTube and several other websites in April that contained material deemed offensive to [...]

US forces in Iraq will release 50 Iraqi detainees per day during the Muslim religious month of Ramadan, according to an announcement by Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi Friday. The US military confirmed Hashemi's announcement, saying the military has reached a deal with the vice president to begin releasing detainees . Ramadan begins the second [...]